Checkrein operative device



(No Model) 1 J. W. MQ AHON, UHEGKREIN OPERATIVE DEVICE.

No. 415,681.. Patented Nov. 19, 1889.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN IV. MOMAIION, OF BOSTON, lVIASSAOHUSETTS.

CHECKREIN OPERATIVE DEVICE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 415,681, dated November 19, 188 9.

Application filed May 21, 1889. Serial No. 311,523. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, JOHN IV. MCMAHON, a citizen of the United States,residing at Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Checkrein Operative Devices; and I do declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

Figure l is a top View of the portion of a harness to which my invention is applied. Fig. 2 is a side view, Fig. 3, a'front view, and Fig. 4 is a top View, of the holder applied to the saddle.

My invention has for its object the operating or hitching and unhitchin g of the checkrein of a harness by the driver or a person in the carriage without the necessity of his leaving the carriage for the purpose, the nature of said invention being defined in the claims hereinafter presented.

In the drawings, A denotes a holder, which is secured to the saddle in the place of the common check-hook, it being formed, essentially as represented, as provided with a socketa and two horns l) I), there being a spaceo between said horns in their lower portion to ad mit between them a chain, line, or strap (7, which is attached at one of. its ends to a ball 0, sustained in the said socket, said chain, line, or strap having at its other or forward end a ring 6, which receives thecheckrein B. Another chain, line, or strap f, connected at one end to the rear surface of the said ball,is extended back and has on its rear end a ring g, which is passed over a hook h, secured to one side of the crupper D, or to the back-strap E, or to the foot-board of the carriage, or within reach of the driver while in the carriage.

The harness being applied to a horse, the checkrein is to be so adjusted that the ball 0, when in the socket a, will properly check the head of the horse, and, it being desired to unhitch the checkrein, the driver can, by reaching forward from the carriage, grasp the ring g and remove it from the hook 72, and by pulling on the line f can raise the ball out of its socket and from between the horns of the holder, and next apply the said ring g to the hook i on one of the driving-reins E. The horse is now at liberty to depress his head, which will draw the ball C forward of the holder A. hen it is again desired to check the horses head, by pulling backward on the driving rein referred to till the ring g is within reach the ball 0 can be drawn backward by means of the said ring and line f attached thereto and dropped into the socket in the holder A, and the said ring g afterward returned to the hook h.

This device is a very convenient one for operating the checkrein of a harness and overcomes the necessity of the driver alighting from the carriage for the purpose of unhitehing or hitching the checkrein.

I am aware of the checking devices shown in United States Patents Nos.104,377 and 315,399, and therefore do not claim such. In both these cases, unless the stop is properly guided by the person manipulating the line it will strike against the sides of the hole or space, and often several attempts are made before said stop will pass through the holder, and, furthermore, the person must wait for the horse to depress his head before he can release his hold of the line, which sometimes gets to be a tedious operation. Vith' my device, as soon as the ball is raised out of the socket and carried outside of the horns of the holder the person can release his hold of the line and is not required to wait for the horse to pull the step through the holder, as in the devices shown in both the patents referred to.

Vhat I claim as my invention is- 1. In a checking and unchecking device, the holder A, formed with the horns and socket, the space between said horns leading into said socket, as shown, and for the pur pose as set forth.

2. In a checking and unchecking device, the combination of the holder provided with the horns and socket, the space between said horns leading into the socket, the ball or stop adapted to said socket, the line connected to the checkrein and to the said ball and extending rearward to within reach of a person in the carriage, with the driving-line E provided with a device to connect to the ball operative line, all as shown, and for the purpose set forth.

3. In a checking and unchecking' device,

5 the holder A, constructed substantially as shown and describedviz., with a socket to receive a ball or stop, and With horns which spring upward from said socket, the space between said horns leading into the socket and 10 increasing in width as they rise above it, as

shown, in combination with said ball or stop adapted to said socket, as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I afliX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

J. W. MoMAHON. Vitnesses:

S. N. PIPER, C. F. DANIELS. 

